What is the role of the husband and the wife in the family?
Children are a wonderful blessing. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3).
Raising a child isn’t easy. In fact, it’s among the most challenging and all-consuming responsibilities we have in life. But good parenting is vital—to society and to the Lord.
Both mother and father have a necessary and important role in the lives of their children. Parents’ work in the home will be more effective if their first priorities are God, each other, and their children.
A home that is safe, where children can grow mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, requires faith and the best efforts of the parents working together (see “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”).
In such a home, children learn to love and serve each other. They learn to keep the commandments of God and to be good citizens. Such homes bless children and their communities.
The role of husband and wife in the family is to first and foremost love each other! Wow, revolutionary!!!
I have found that when there is love and complete commitment between my husband and I, there is no problem that we cannot face together. It is much easier to teach the children with love and to handle life's challenges.
My husband and I are equals. I feel loved, respected, and appreciated by him. I hope he feels the same things from me.
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Husband and wife in a marriage are meant to be equal, partners. The husband is the head of the household and is responsible for the temporal welfare of his family. His role is to support his wife. The wife is also to support her husband and to nurture her family both spiritually and emotionally. Husband and wife are meant to work side by side in providing a safe haven from the world for their family. Their roles are different, but equally important and essential to building the family and the community.
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I feel it is whatever the husband and wife work it out to be. In my home, my wife and I have worked out a system that we both feel is fair.
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Husband and wife are co-equals, partners, one in purpose. The husband is the providor and protector in the home. He should lead his children by example, and always treat their mother with the highest respect and love. The wife is the primary nurturer in the home and, if at all possible, should stay at home with them and see to their education in all things.
Home is where children learn to share, sacrifice, support, and be better spouses and parents themselves, one day.
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Our prophet, President Hinckley, set forth The Family, A Proclamation to the World. It is a revelation given to our Prophets and Apostles that outlines God's direction for families. Therein we learn that marriage is ordained of God, and that a husband and wife are partners in rearing a family. The father's role is to lead the family in righteousness, to provide and protect, both spiritually and temporally for the family. The mother's role is to counsel with her husband and sustain him in his leadership roles both at home, at church, at work, and in the community. She is primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. Together they teach their children the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Mormons believe that a Husband and wife have a sacred responsibility to have and raise children. Husbands are to preside over the family. Not in a controlling way but in a similar way that Christ presides over the people in his church, with loving affection and concern for their well being. Husbands provide for their family with physical needs and emotional and spiritual safety. Wives are to nurture and provide for the growth and development of their children. Husband and Wives are to respect one another and make decisions regarding their family together. They have a responsibility to create a home atmosphere where children feel safe, where they can grow and develop physically and spiritually. Even if a husband and wife are not able to have children, they have a responsibility to create the same safe home atmosphere and to protect and nourish each other with love and respect.
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The LDS church teaches that women and men should work together as equal partners: "fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners" (A Proclamation to the World). Another wonderful statement from Elder L. Tom Perry clarifies our beliefs about men and women working together in family leadership: "There is not a president and vice president in a family. We have co-presidents working together eternally for the good of their family . . . They are on equal footing. They plan and organize the affairs of the family jointly and unanimously as they move forward." One of my very favorite clarifications was made by President Boyd K. Packer: "There is no task, however menial, connected with the care of babies, the nurturing of children, or with the maintenance of the home that is not the husband’s equal obligation. The tasks which come with parenthood, which many consider to be below other tasks, are simply above them."
Perhaps my favorite analogy about the role of men and women was taught by Elder Bruce C. Hafen and his wife Sister Marie Hafen: "In the little kingdom of a family, each spouse freely gives something the other does not have and without which neither can be complete and return to God’s presence. Spouses are not a soloist with an accompanist, nor are they two solos. They are the interdependent parts of a duet, singing together in harmony at a level where no solo can go."
In my opinion, the role of husband and wife should be the ultimate model of equality, love, and respect. I know this is the case because it is what God has taught us through scripture and prophets, and because I have prayed about it and know that it is true.
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We believe that fathers are responsible to provide the basic necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture and upbringing of their children. In these roles, husband and wife are to support each other as equal partners.
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